Gene Simmons reveals why he charges fans $12,000 to be his roadie
Gene Simmons has again defended his decision to charge fans $12,000 to spend a day as his roadie on tour.
In March, Simmons’ website announced the opportunity, which cost $12,000. For that money, the fan is permitted to bring along one guest and experience life “on the GS Band Team Crew for the entire day.”
The expensive privilege grants access to meet Simmons at his hotel, share a meal with him, help the roadies load the set, be granted backstage access at the venue, and sit in on soundcheck before being brought out at some point by the rocker during that night’s show as well as receiving an autographed bass.
In a new interview with New Jersey radio station 95.9 The Rat, Simmons said the idea stemmed from him recalling watching the likes of Jimi Hendrix when he was younger and wondering “what it was like” to spend a day in his shoes on tour.
However, Simmons has faced criticism due to the expensive costs he is charging fans to be his roadie for only one day, which he has said is due to insurance reasons.
Simmons said: “Now, having said that, we only do one roadie for a day per show. And I’ll tell you why — because nowadays everything is so litigious. That means everybody sues everybody for no reason. So if you get a paper cut, somebody gets sued. And that’s just the way life is here in America — much more in California, by the way. It’s crazy out here.”
He continued: “So, I can’t even, if I wanted to, bring out or do roadie for a day with 10, 20, 30, as many people [as we would like]. So we do one, because the insurance costs for that are astronomical. And so this ain’t cheap. It’s not for everybody. And for that one person, you do have to pay premium numbers. That’s just life.”
Defending the decision, the Kiss frontman previously told the New York Post: “When I was a kid and went to see shows, I was always curious, ‘What’s it like when they’re in a hotel? What’s it like when the stage is set up? What’s it like being onstage when they’re performing and seeing the audience from the stage?’”
Despite postponing a series of dates until 2026, Simmons is currently on tour across North America and will be joined by a number of fans along the way.
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